Key to Reserva, a Movie From Scorsese/Hitchcock

Oooooh, this was fantastic! I really got sucked into it in the first couple of minutes of the "movie."

That was very interesting. Thanks for the link.

That was so cool, but I have two questions for everyone else who watched it:

1) Was there a Hitchcock cameo in there? That would have been the perfect touch!

2) Did anyone else get the sense that Mel Brooks was directing Scorcese directing Hitchcock?

Scorsese was channeling Woody Allen. His performance in the archive room with the white preservationist gloves was borderline This Is Spinal Tap. Really great.

They pretty much got all of the big Hitchcock works in there -- even the lustrous blue suit.

Oddly, the name of the vinter never sunk in at all -- even with close ups of the label and the cork...

Scorsese did a great job with this. I would have liked to see him improvise what might have been on that missing page! I must have missed the Hitchcock cameo too...I'd have a hard time believing that there isn't one.

I love how he made Simon Baker resemble Robert Walker from Strangers on a Train and Rope, and the actor who looks like Leo G. Carroll from North by Northwest. Of course there's the Man who Knew too Much and Vertigo references, and the wine bottle MacGuffin from Notorious and the Birds joke at the end. This was a lot of fun.

And the character names were a great touch - "Roger Thornberry", "Grace Thornberry", "Leonard" (after Martin Landau's character in North by Northwest, and "Mr. Carroll" (for Michael Easton's dead-ringer take on Leo G. Carroll). Priceless.

CORRECTION: Richard Easton (not Michael) played Mr. Carroll.

But my question is, is it legitimately taken from an unfinished Hitchcock script or was that a goof and it's Scorsese doing an homage to Hitchcock for a commercial?

I think it's a goof but don't know it for real

I'm guessing it's a goof - the names and homages are too spot-on to be otherwise. And Ted Griffin (the s reenwriter of Ocean's Eleven) is named as a "creative consultant", which would be a nice cover if (as I suspect) he wrote it.

But one thing's for sure, it's one of the best goofs I've ever seen.

The Utne Reader posted an interesting blog about "Scorsese's Hitchcock" that covers some more of the references and also the manuscript claim:

http://www.utne.com/01-11-2008/Dial-M-for-Marketing-Scorsese-Parodies-Hitchcock.aspx

This unfinished movie script of Hitchcock has been rumoured to exist for many years. I remember first hearing about it when I was a student in the London School of Film Technique many years ago. We tried to find out what the plans were but without success even though we were once transferred to a production office in Hollywood by phone to some guy 'doing the research' on it! That was subsequently denied by Head Office - normal Hollywood secrecy rules about projected movies - and the guy in question vanished. Very Hitchcockian in itself.
So why don't you all write to the Freixenet - Reserva - Pimecava company at: news@decanter.com, and ask them to ask Scorsese to make the movie. I already did.

From Tim in Ireland.